This invention relates to an Premelt Polyamide molding apparatus, which is primarily used for insert molding. More specifically, it is directed to a molding apparatus for use with hot melt adhesives such as dimer acid based polyamide resins. Such raw materials can be used for molding at relatively low pressures, thus allowing encapsulation of fragile components.
Molding machines for insert molding with hot melt adhesives are known. Most existing molding machines used for molding with hot melt adhesives utilize melting and feeding systems adapted from hot melt application equipment. They generally fall in two main categories namely small machines for prototype molding with small reservoir capacities below 500 ml and larger production machines with larger melt reservoirs above 2 liters. The prototype machines often use air pressure to push out the melted material and are typically designed with an injection nozzle that is fixed on the reservoir. Therefore the reservoir or the mold-set must move in order for the nozzle to engage into the mold-set. The production machines typically utilize a pumping device and a heated hose to transport the melted material to the nozzle. This nozzle is typically mounted on a sliding device, allowing it to engage into the mold-set. These molding machines typically utilize standard hot melt adhesive melting units combined with a mold clamp where a heated hose is used to transport the melted raw material to a sliding injection nozzle and finally to the mold set. Such machines are expensive to manufacture and require maintenance or replacement of the heated hoses on a frequent basis. These hoses are prone to blockage as the material chars inside. The hoses also limit the maximum molding temperatures with such Polyamide materials and are a source of substantial energy loss. Sometimes it is desirable to operate at temperatures above the hose limitation in order to obtain certain flow characteristics from the raw materials in the mold-set. Specifically the harder polyamide materials tend to have heat requirements above that of heated hoses.
Accordingly the objectives of this invention are to provide an apparatus for molding with Polyamide materials that:
provides a more cost effective molding machine for high volume production;
reduces the maintenance requirements for such machines;
reduces the energy loss typically associated with such molding equipment;
reduces cycle time for molding operations with a new injection nozzle engagement system;
reduces degradation of material due to short transfer distance and accurate temperature control;
provides a better work area for the operator, and
simplifies changeover from one type of material to another.
Other objectives of the invention will become apparent from time to time throughout the specification and claims as hereinafter related.
To achieve such improvements, this invention consists of a cost-effective injection molding apparatus for molding with hot melt adhesives and other Polyamide materials. It is manufactured from standard, inexpensive tubing components in a simple design, it has fewer moving parts than other molding machines. It is specifically designed to not require the use of temperature limiting heated hoses for transport of melted material. It does not require sliding injection nozzles for engagement into mold-set. Instead it utilizes a very compact layout with a substantially fixed injection nozzle. These features result in very low maintenance requirement for the invention. It incorporates a large, self-draining melt reservoir with single-side mounting to allow for heat expansion and has very short material transfer distance from reservoir to mold-set. It can utilize permanent nozzle engagement into the mold-set to simplify molding operation and reduce cost further. It incorporates several safety features to protect operators against injuries and has a large work area around the mold-set.